This is a very telling statistic: at just shy of 11 deaths per thousand people, that "high" is still fairly low, perhaps as a result of (expensive) new medical treatments and (inexpensive) personal responsibility on the part of our senior citizens.

Since I'm about to knock on the door of that cohort (come this Monday), I suppose I should be grateful.

■ I've maintained for a long time that "disco is dead," but that's apparently not entirely true:

"Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program."

Not exactly a surprise, given the nature of the beast. When care is available for free, why would folks bother to pay for it? And that's exactly how these types of plans work: by shifting taxpayer dollars almost directly to providers, consumers have no incentive to pay out of their own pockets.

And there's a more insidious (or, perhaps, deliberate) side-effect:

"A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan."

Again, why would someone pay for their childrens' insurance when the taxpayer has already ponied up for them?

This is a very telling statistic: at just shy of 11 deaths per thousand people, that "high" is still fairly low, perhaps as a result of (expensive) new medical treatments and (inexpensive) personal responsibility on the part of our senior citizens.

Since I'm about to knock on the door of that cohort (come this Monday), I suppose I should be grateful.

■ I've maintained for a long time that "disco is dead," but that's apparently not entirely true:

"Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program."

Not exactly a surprise, given the nature of the beast. When care is available for free, why would folks bother to pay for it? And that's exactly how these types of plans work: by shifting taxpayer dollars almost directly to providers, consumers have no incentive to pay out of their own pockets.

And there's a more insidious (or, perhaps, deliberate) side-effect:

"A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan."

Again, why would someone pay for their childrens' insurance when the taxpayer has already ponied up for them?